Biography of Soutrik Aloysha Delphic

My Favorite Role Playing Character

Currently, my favorite roleplaying character is one at the Wheel of Time Role Playing site commonly known as "The Shining Walls of Tar Valon" (aka SW). Her name is Soutrik Aloysha Delphic, Sitter of the Yellow Ajah, Sailmistress of the Rusty Nail, and First Recrowned Sh'boan of Shara.

Aloysha Delphic, 23rd Daughter of the Delphic family line, eldest daughter to the renowned Sharan General of the Secret Police- Sampasi Delphic, was born to a life a privileged and luxury within the ‘peaceful’ Tunisa region of Shara. The family consisted of two (openly accepted) older brothers, Jamal and Altec and younger sisters Tamara, one-year Aloysha’s junior, and the youngest sister Chiape, who was six years her junior. Aloysha’s mother was not greatly involved in the family life.

The first eight years of Aloysha’s life she was taught the appreciation of finer things. She had a solid education in language, history, mathematics and courtly manners. As a daughter of a High House she was required to learn her families lineage and she knew it well, spoken almost in route before the age of six.

Only the members of the Delphic Family knew the truth of their histories, and the daughters remembered it most. Aloysha would quote it to her aunts verbatim:

In FY 992, a force of tremendous number sailed into the Aryth Ocean from the western ports, under the command of Hawkwing’s son, Luthair Paendrag Mondwin. Its destination was Seanchan. Unquestionably, the world had never seen such a fleet, yet the following year Hawkwing sent out another, reportedly of equal size, from the southern ports. Under the command of a daughter of Hawkwing, reportedly as supreme a general as her father and quite possibly ta’veren herself, the invasion fleet sailed for Shara. She carried the banner of her own sigil, that of the Golden Swan in flight on an emblazoned sun, and the two banners of her father, the Golden Hawk, and three golden hawks in flight. Delphic was the daughter of Hawkwing’s second love in life, Tamika.

Salvation for the empire, and most surely for Hawkwing on a emotional and spiritual level, came in the person of a woman named simply Tamika. Extremely little is known of her beyond her first name. All sources aggress that she was nearly thirty years younger than Hawkwing. A number of persons from within the servant class at the Aldeshar palace claim that she could channel, even that she was a renegade Aes Seda, though this does not square with reports of her youth which are vague at the best. What is certain is that she brought Hawkwing out of the Black Years. At her behest he compromised in his treatment of Aldeshar, allowing the people to return, restoring confiscated estates and titles. Because of her, the harshness that had begun to spread from Aldeshar into the rest of the conquered lands vanished.

Hawkwing met Timka late in FY 964 on his return from the Aiel Waste and married her one year later in an elaborate ceremony attended by a crowd estimate to be several thousand in number. Marvelous gifts poured in from all over the conquered lands as did gifts that Hawkwing had sent for to give his new bride on their wedding day. Several sources speak of the Tamika Poems, saying that they testified a man every bit as much as in love as the Amaline Poems, but of course none of them have survived the years. Tamika can certainly be credited for Hawkwing’s return to his earlier policies toward conquered lands, possibly several refinements in administration and taxation added after FY 965. They had their first son, Luthair Paendrag Mondwin who was born in FY 967. They had three more children, two of those children were daughters, for one, Delphic Hawkwing, commanded the Shara expedition and a partial letter in the Royal Library in Cairhien says that “the great Hawkwing died less than an hour before the news arrived of the tragic deaths of his daughter Laiwynde and her son, the last of Hawkwing’s blood this side of the oceans.” For it is Delphic who survived in Shara and Luthair in Seanchan.

More history of Tamika’s presence can be noted in the Hawkwing’s dealing with the White Tower. Tamika’s relations with the White Tower were decidedly cool and distant, thought certainly they had never been considered hostile in any way. Openly, at least. But in FY 968 Bonwhin refused to receive Tamika because of rumors that spoke of Tamika as a renegade Aes Sedai were true.

Tamika herself died in FY 987 and the planning for Delphic to travel to Shara was underway. She left Hawkwing's Empire and headed east to Shara landing in Shara in FY993. Logs testify to Delphic’s conquering might, and a majority of Sharan lands falling to her conquest within the first six months of her arrival. Coming to a standstill, a bargain was struck and Delphic established a High House among the ruling class in Shara ensuring that the Daughters of her lineage would inherit the throne of Shara once every four generations.

An thus we are marked the Daughters of Delphic, her signal our own.

And thus the tradition was passed on, just as Aloysha had learned by route.

During a formal reception in Aloysha’s eighth year a message arrived from the Ayyad to inform the family that Tamara, Aloysha’s younger sister had been chosen to be the next Sh’boan from the Delphic family. It was devastating to Aloysha’s self-confidence and self-esteem. Sampasi felt he needed to save her from such a psychological blow, from the rejection. Thus, Aloysha began intensive schooling to be the first female bodyguard to the Sh’boan. Daily drilled in Aiel footfighting techniques, dagger and swordplay, tracking, sabotage, battle tactics, torturing and questioning prisoners and political maneuvering her self-esteem recovered and her thirst for knowledge grew.

When Tamara turned 17 years old she was made Sh’boan, Aloysha (now 18) was made her sister’s bodyguard, and General of the Secret Police. After a few weeks of planning Aloysha began a campaign into the Blight to reclaim the land that was most recently lost to the Blight in the previous five years. After the first few successes, she turned the campaign over to her second in command and returned to her duties as her sister’s bodyguard. Priceless mines and once bountiful land had come under the Shadow, but now had been liberated because of Aloysha and her armies.

When Aloysha turned 19, her sister Tamara – then 18 and only the Sh’boan for a year and a half, and brothers Jamal, and Altec are executed for treason. They supposedly murdered Tamara’s husband his most regal majesty, Isaak Vandeveer, 19th Lord of Mateo, House of Vandeveer, Keeper of the Eternal Peace, Emperor Sh’botay. After the execution Aloysha was made Sh’boan to keep the Delphic family’s honor in tact despite certain members treasonous actions, and Aloysha had been the one to discover the treason, she had been rewarded. A grand ceremony before her countrymen saw the badges of office, her bracelets, placed upon her arms and legs.

The jewelry was exquisite and fit for the wealthiest monarch. Each bracelet and ankle band fit snuggly against Aloysha’s skin and did not move easily. There were no latches to open the bracelets that anyone could identify and she could not remove them by sliding them over her hands or feet. They apparently had been made with the One Power for them to have the appearance they did.

Each bracelet was made of ivory or something that had once been ivory, but had been changed by the One Power, it was difficult to tell, and was about two fingers wide and half a finger thick. Yet, each piece of jewelry was covered with designs and gemstones. The ones nearest her hands and feet were carved with the waves of the oceans and had blue sapphire gemstones. The next one further up her wrists and legs were carved with leaves and blades of grass, flowers, and trees. Where there were not carvings, there were dark green emeralds. The next band of ivory had very little carvings in the shapes of starbursts and was covered in white diamonds. The fourth band of ivory had carvings of clouds and was covered in gray opals. The fifth band of ivory on each of Aloysha’s arms and legs had no carvings but small wholes that Soutrik’s mocha skin could be seen through and was covered in yellow topaz. The sixth band of ivory had flames carved in wild swirls that met and surrounded large deep red rubies. The final and in Aloysha’s opinion, the most beautiful band had no carvings at all, and was set with over thirty evenly sized tigers-eye gemstones; each band had 30!

Aloysha married Danaquin Vandeveer, 20th Lord of Mateo, House of Vandeveer in an arranged marriage planned by his family and the Ayyad. She fell madly in love with him. They conceived a child and about six months into her pregnancy, her ability to channel manifested itself when the Ayyad used the ter’angreal bracelets to control her actions.

Not a month after she is 20 years old Aloysha gave birth to her child whom she was then forced to kill due to Sharan law. The Ayyad also forced Aloysha to kill her husband Danaquin, for in Shara, women who can channel are required to mate with the sons of women who can channel! Danaquin was not of those bloodlines, for he had no tattoos. No one with the markings was allowed to mate with anyone without and any child of such a union, by law, must be killed.

Aloysha was then forced to marry Jackobar, the new Sh’botay chosen by the Ayyad. She was NOT allowed to ‘be’ with him as a woman would normally with her husband, because she was made Ayyad as well as being Sh’boan, being tattooed on her face, and could only mate with male children of other Ayyad. Thus began her forced celibacy.

Her years as Sh’boan of Shara were fraught with much anxiety and hardly any happiness. Aloysha immersed herself in study of the One Power. She became fully trained by the Ayyad and broke away from their control in the last years of her reign. The Sharan histories kept by people not in fear of the Ayyad note her as one of the most celebrated Sh’boans in Sharan history for the peace and prosperity that blossomed under her rule. Aloysha sent fleets to invade Seanchan’s western shore hoping to join Shara and Seanchan, so that the Ayyad will be leashed. She knew it meant her own capture, but she figured that it is worth becoming damne if it saved Shara from the wicked Ayyad. Finally, Aloysha secretly built her own palace for her family and started bringing armies together under her control. She was feared by the enclave of Ayyad around her who began to bend to her will while secretly plotting behind her back.

In the middle of her 25th year, Aloysha discovered a plot by the Ayyad to murder her. Her slave girl Mattille, helped her to escape Shara and the Ayyad via a boat bound for Illian. She became a stowaway aboard the boat, but then was discovered. She was shielded by a woman aboard the boat and gang raped by the crew. Luckily, she freesd herself and balefired everyone on the boat. The trauma caused major memory loss.

Found floating naked in a barrel by the Sea Folk, she had no memories, and only the bracelets about her wrists and ankles as information. Aloysha was adopted by Jantica, the Sailmistress of the Rusty Nail, sister to the Wavemistress of the Atha’an Miere Clan of Somarin. Jantica named Aloysha Soutrik, and trained her to be a good crewmember, teaching her the ways of the Atha’an Miere. Soutrik drank in the info filling the space of her removed memories. The Windfinder of the Rusty Nail tried teaching Soutrik to channel for she could feel the ability within her, but Soutrik had a block. A sleepwalking incident revealed that Soutrik was too dangerous to stay aboard ship. She was thus taken to the White Tower to be a Novice and find the break to her block as well as search out her forgotten memories.

Soutrik had many aspects about herself which she sometimes had a hard time dealing with. Her appearance was one of these aspects. Soutrik’s facial tattoos started behind her ears actually and continued on to her forehead, around the outside edges of her eyes, down the sides of her face near her ears and down to her neck and collarbone. The tattoos on both sides of her head could be easily seen as her Afro style hair had been shaved away to reveal them. As they were brightly colored green vines with vivid red rose buds there was no hiding them on Soutrik’s yellowish brown mocha colored skin. There were seven partially opened rosebuds on each side of Soutrik’s face. To Soutrik who could not see the tattoos as she could the ivory bands, she was as she had always been. She knew no different. She was an enigma. An oddity. An exotic. And she always would be.

She could not be called beautiful. No, that would never happen, not in her opinion anyway. Soutrik’s face was unlike any that she had seen, somewhere between round and oval with high cheek bones and a cleft chin. Inwardly, she thought herself freakish with her large mouth and lips, wide flattened short nose, and eyes that appeared to her to be merely slits when compared to those of her adopted mother. They were clear blue, which she did like, but her almond shaped sliver eyes, never failed to miss the stares she drew. Soutrik wished she had straight hair rather than her tiny tight black curls. With straight hair, she could disguise her high flat forehead with bangs and possibly cover her tattoos as well, but she did not daydream on the impossible, it only depressed her.

Soutrik often thought that if you removed her head from her body, she did look somewhat normal, even with the ivory bands. She stood no more that 4’ 11” tall on a good day, and had a small upper torso with generous hips. Her adopted mother had told her that men liked women shaped the way she was, but Soutrik was certain they would not get past the rest of her freakish appearance to bother admiring her body or her Sea Folk swish walk.

For five years, Soutrik was a Novice of the White Tower. During this period, her block was broken and a few of her memories were returned to her. She met Sven (the love of her life) and Hesper (her first ‘real’ friend). She met her mentors, Zyriam, Bonaiv, Madeline and Mackenzie. Her first leanings towards Ajah were to be a Green, not Yellow. Witnessing Novice Sadie’s death and Novice Calin’s near-death and the Healing performed by Zahreen Sedai, Soutrik’s interests turned to the Yellow Ajah.

For five more years, Soutrik was an Accepted of the White Tower. During this period, Jantica (her adopted Sea Folk mother) dies, Soutrik is made Sailmistress of the Rusty Nail and carries on her duties via a woman who speaks for her, a Voce Mai Hydrem, so that she can receive a share of the profit and not loose rank among her Clan, thus securing a place for her if she decided to return once she was Aes Sedai. Soutrik discovered a stasis box on an herbing trip with Brazzelle, a Gaidin in Training. The stasis box contains one of the lost Rods of Dominion. She gives the Rod and the box to then Keeper, Aeilla Sedai, who is later killed mysteriously after Soutrik is raised to the shawl.

During her time as Accepted, She meets another Sharan, Evangeline Sedai and begins to make plans and deals to return to Shara. Mackenzie Sedai fixes the flaws in her bracelets. During her travels to Tremalking, she finds out the she was tricked by the Ayyad, and that her brothers and sister were framed for the death of his most regal majesty, Isaak Vandeveer, 19th Lord of Mateo, House of Vandeveer, Keeper of the Eternal Peace, Emperor Sh’botay. She meets Issak who is living exiled on Tremalking with several other exiled Sh’boan and Sh’botay. Her feeling of hatred for the utter betrayal of the Sharan people by the Ayyad caused her to become angry and seek vengeance. She travels to Shara, hunts down many Ayyad, returns the exiled rulers and frees the slaves starting a revolution,. Shara was already in great turmoil, as Soutrik (Aloysha’s) sister Chiape, who was made Sh’boan and the Sh’botay are missing, having disappeared, reported kidnapped by Graendal, one of the Foresaken.

Soon after her raising to the shawl Soutrik married Svenson GoldenSwan of Saldea, once an Accepted of the White Tower, bonding him her Warder. Although her memories were now fully restored and her right to claim the thrown of Shara pressed upon her by the gentry, Soutrik chose to use her Sea Folk kinship names in her marriage ceremony becoming Soutrik Aloysha Delphic Seamist din GoldenSwan, instead of solely her Sharan ties. For the most part, she leaves off her salt, but she knows it is there and takes great pride in her ‘mixed’ heritage. After the marriage ceremony, Svenson was crowned her Sh’botay Emperor, her co-ruler, and was accepted by the people of Shara because of his great deeds during the revolution. Hesper Sedai, due to her steadfast support of Soutrik throughout all of the trails and tribulations of the revolution was made a Grand Lady of Shara, accepted by the gentry, and granted her over province and Governorship which she rules by proxy.

The greatest hardship in Soutrik’s life though, was the loss of her & Svenson’s first child, a son named Cassidy. The Foresaken, Mesaana and Semirhage, disguised as Ayyad kidnapped Soutrik and Hesper Sedai in Shara not long after the child’s birth. This caused a counter-revolution in Shara, the Ayyad rising up to throw out Sven and his large army of male channelers he had begun to train. Mesaana and Semirhage had planted the seeds of discontent in an effort to gain control over Shara and Soutrik to find the once lost Rod of Dominion that Zyriam Sedai had taken from the White Tower after the Keeper’s, Aeilla Sedai, mysterious death. Zyriam had given the rod to Soutrik knowing that she was the only other Sister alive that knew of its existence (since she had found it year’s before when she was Accepted). Zyriam also know that Soutrik had no love of the Dark and would guard the rod with her life. Mesanna and Semirhage had already attacked several people at the White Tower and among the Aiel encampments outside of Cairhein in order to find the rod, but to no avail thanks to Zyriam. Now Soutrik hid the rod and it was dire that the Foresaken not find it.

So, the Foresaken kidnapped and tortured Hesper and Soutrik Sedai, chopping off half of Soutrik’s right pinky. They killed Soutrik’s son, Cassidy but despite all of that, they still did not get the rod. Sven and several Aes Sedai, Deiree, Serge, Zahreen, Zyriam, accompanied by Accepted Oenone, and several Gaidin, including Rysor and Aemon, fought bravely against the Ayyad, quelling the counter-revolution and rescuing Hesper and Soutrik. The Foresaken still lurk about searching for the rod, but Soutrik has it well hidden and has told nobody where she has put it.

Today, Soutrik Aloysha Delphic din GoldenSwan is approaching half a century old, and is a Sitter of the Yellow Ajah. She still reigns over Shara with her husband Svenson. The couple long to have another child, but the loss of their son Cassidy weighs heavy upon them. Soutrik splits her time between the White Tower and Shara, gatewaying home to Shara every evening and back to the White Tower in the morning. She plans to continue to do so as long as the gentry of Shara want her as Sh’boan.